It has been known to provide positive lumbar support in a water ski vest. For example, in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,221, I disclosed a water ski vest having a relatively hard frame structure implanted into the vest. This frame extended down the back of the water ski vest and extended over the lumbar region of the subject's lower back. Consequently, the water ski vest disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,221, provided positive lumbar support for the subject wearing the vest.
However, the design of the lumbar support structure shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,221, basically lent itself to custom applications. That is, this design is best suited to a situation where the inner lumbar support frame is custom designed to fit the individuals back. Thus, the water ski-lumbar support structure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,221 is not particularly suited for mass merchandising.
After the advent of the water ski vest shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,221, there has been additional work in the area of improving back support in water ski vests. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,805 addressed the problem of providing additional back support structure in a water ski vest. A review of this patent shows the use of a belt and plastic plate structure in conjunction with the water ski vest. In particular, the belt is designed to simply hold the plastic plate against the small of the back for providing additional back support structure to the person wearing the water ski vest. Despite the references to the lumbar region, the design of the water ski vest shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,805 is such that the plastic plate only controls and provides support to the small of the back and not to the lumbar region.
Therefore, there has been and continues to be a need for a water ski vest that is comfortable, easy to use, and which provides direct and positive lumbar support to the person wearing the ski vest.